Directions

Prep

45 m

Cook

2 h

Ready In

2 h 45 m

Place the turkey carcass into a large soup pot or stock pot and pour in the water; bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook the turkey frame until the remaining meat falls off the bones, about 1 hour. Remove the turkey carcass and remove and chop any remaining turkey meat. Chop the meat.

Strain the broth through a fine mesh strainer into a clean soup pot. Add the chopped turkey to the strained broth; bring the to a boil, reduce heat, and stir in the potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, cabbage, tomatoes, barley, Worcestershire sauce, salt, parsley, basil, bay leaf, black pepper, paprika, poultry seasoning, and thyme. Simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 1 more hour. Remove bay leaf before serving.

Reviews 91

116 Ratings

PAT79

10/29/2011

This is a great soup made from bones that most cooks discard. Like others for years I've used the carcass for soup. After our turkey dinner is over, my husband immediately takes most all the meat off the carcass (putting aside any small scraps to be used in the soup) and cuts the carcass in manageable pieces. Then I put the carcass in my largest crock pot along with a large onion, some cut up carrots and celery, and salt and pepper. I cook it all night on low and the next morning after discarding the carcass and vegetables, I have the most wonderful stock. I can then freeze the stock and turkey scraps until a couple weeks later when the family is again yearning for turkey.

Nana

11/18/2011

My grandmother (born 1893) learned this from her grandmother (an Irish immigrant in the 1860's), but they added a Tblsp of cider vinegar to the water with the carcass and cooked it slowly overnight on the back of the wood stove (my crock pot today) to draw the calcium from the bones. Doing this turns the broth just slightly milky and gives the soup a unique flavor.

Dmseck

10/28/2011

I've also been making this type of soup for many years, but cook it longer on lower heat, to pull as much flavor from the bones as possible. I used tomatoes, as per recipe, but prefer turkey soup without them, so will leave them out next time. Also, I prefer a stronger turkey flavor, so I'll cut the water back to 3 quarts. I added a bag of frozen mixed vegetables and did not strain the broth. Great recipe for those who have never tried this method. Thanks. : )